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I see a lot of ads for stuff like cruise ships where the pay is very good, but obviously you will be away from home for a while and need to sight read and keep your ego locked in your guitar case. You can also land a gig with a famous and long lasting band like Nels Cline did w/ Wilko but how can you plan for something like that? You can prepare, but luck will always be a huge factor. What if the frontman decides he'll do a solo playing the acoustic himself for next year? You're out of a job and on the hustle... again.
They are still going as an entity but they don't have houses or pensions- there is no real security for the future.
By way of balance another guy I know was in a big 90's band that did a few soundtracks, he managed to buy a studio space in Hackney and has a degree of security for the future.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Music is everywhere, from online advertising to corporate video, and somebody somewhere has to write, play and produce it.
Three weeks ago I was at a networking session involving engineers and producers who work with a lot of big names including Black Keys, RHCP, Beyonce and countless others, some big name session musicians (like Wendy Melvoin among others) and three studio owners.
There were about thirty of us, a few drinks and nibbles and a lot of connections got made. This happened four miles from my house in a small mid-Wales town and it happens everywhere, all the time.
I suspect the OP is probably better placed than me to make those contacts, but you have to get yourself out there.
You probably have many other alternative options there?
I can only comment from the point of view of a touring and recording musician, because that's all I really know. What I would say for a start is make sure it really IS what you want to do. It can have a devastating effect on relationships and home life - most of my oldest friends are or were full-time touring musicians, and the harsh reality is almost none of them have their marriages and families intact as a result.I work with a lot of newly-signed artists and all too often the penny is just starting to drop for a lot of them as to how hard it actually all is.
I was in a band who were signed to a major label in my very early 20s and realistically everything since has stemmed from that. The producers we worked with often hired me for other records they worked on afterwards, and that led to further live opportunities etc and the chance to build up a reputation quickly. When the band were dropped I kept working and did more and more session and live work, which in those days was pretty lucrative. At the same time I wrote songs for the band and a few other folk and that's still the main source of income for most signed musicians.
I actually stopped touring altogether when my daughter was born in the mid-90s. I'd seen the effects of the touring life on too many families and realised it just wasn't for me. I didn't want to miss her growing up, and the first gig I was offered around the time of her birth was a 4 month tour, with just a five week break afterwards before another 2 months out. Sod that. There are people who make that work for them but for me it wasn't worth the risk.
I was fortunate in that I was able to seamlessly move into production, and I'd been savvy enough to watch some of the engineers we'd worked with very closely and pick their brains constantly. These were the days of 6-figure recording budgets and these engineers were the best on the planet at the time, so it was a hell of an education.
Nowadays 75% of my work is production and engineering, although I do almost always end up doing guitars on the records I produce too. Producers' points on albums don't generate anywhere NEAR the income they used to, so it's really important for everyone to keep their housekeeping in order and stay on top of things like PPL and PRS income.
It's a very, very different industry now to the one I grew up in. Notably, only one of my friends from that time is still doing this full-time, and he plays with a band that still sell-out 12000 - 14000 seaters across Europe. My guess is if I'd kept touring I'd probably still be making a living from it - he and I did a lot of the same gigs and tours - but other income sources would be a lot less lucrative nowadays. I still get to do the odd big show and it's a massive buzz, but I'm glad I don't HAVE to do it.
Making a living as a new artist CAN still be done - I've worked on records in the last 15 years or so that have sold in the millions, but it's exceptionally rare now, and live income is more important than ever. That, and radio. I also manage an artist (who I happen to be marrying) so I see first-hand how hard the industry has become. That said, she makes enough from her writing and album sales to make a living if she wants to full-time.
Things to bear in mind: of all the bands who DO sign a major record deal, which very generously is probably about 1 in 1000, only SIX percent have ever turned a profit. Historically 94% of the industry has always run at a loss, it's just that in the past the 6% who DID make money made such vast sums for their labels that they could afford to chuck cash at the rest. Those odds are absurd, and I can think of no other industry that runs like that.
And that's when things were good. Nowadays, advances are tiny, streaming income is a joke, and competition from legacy acts charging £100 a ticket has decimated the live income opportunities for newly signed acts.
Also, remember that image is EVERYTHING. Image and perception. If someone tells you they don't like the guitar you've brought, get another. If you're a sideman, your job is entirely to be as hassle-free and easy as possible. If your gear develops a fault, the artist doesn't want to know. The management don't want to know. Make no fuss whatsoever, get your tech to look at it quietly, get on with the show. No dramas whatsoever. Get a great tech that knows you and your setup better than you do (I was really spoiled in that regard). Don't treat ANYONE like shit, be it local crew or a venue's monitor engineer, or the catering staff, or anyone. These things are noted and never forgotten. Alway, always play to the track. Always. Nobody's interested in your shredding, there simply isn't an audience for it and 99.999% of the general public who are not guitarists think it's awful anyway. If you're asked to do a solo make it something the audience can whistle. If you get asked to do a session make sure you're so good you become essential and reliable. Remember, it's not your gig.
Similarly if you get a good support slot, know how to behave. Learn the etiquette involved - there's a LOT of do's and don'ts. Stay out the way, touch NOTHING on stage, and again, be as hassle-free as possible. One of the acts I play with is guys whose sales are in the millions, and they are meticulous when it comes to picking supports, because it has to be people who know the drill inside out. Make the right impression and you'll get more.
If you're going for it, properly commit to it. See who's successful, see who the labels are signing, work out why, see if you can fit in. Don't make music for other guitarists, make music people will buy.
I don't think I'll ever be working at this level in music, so it's more out of curiosity, but are there any do's and don'ts that people find surprising or get caught out on most commonly when they're starting in this work? Or is it mostly common sense providing that you have a "main artist comes first" and otherwise respectful attitude?
Even at my barely professional level I've lost gigs because of bringing the wrong guitar to an audition. Not wrong sounding guitar, just wrong looking.
Expect nothing from the main act. If they talk to you at all consider that a bonus. The crew will quite possibly be arsehole-ish to you. Smile and be totally professional. Opening slots for major acts are pretty much a first rung, you have to make the most of the opportunity and make sure you're asked back for more.
Basically, be absolutely zero hassle whatsoever, just there to do the job - which is to warm up the crowd for the main act.
2. They used to get called a cricket bat for a reason ;-)
pro-guitarists/bassists and certainly 2 of those are in major bands as sidemen.
The Drummers seem to fair better but more success seems to be with guitar teachers, gear reps or in music retail and in recording.
Even a Strat can send the wrong message (Superstrats in indie bands, for instance).
If I cannot qualify what I should bring I usually bring a Tele.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com